Forever
by Umino Saki
Summary: How long is Lotte's "forever" to a centuries-old dragon like Sucy? [Dragon!Sucy] [Sulotte]


**IT'S FINALLY HERE. ANOTHER PIECE. And it's not for my Diakko one, nor is it the Hannah/Barbara one I promised. DAMMIT. Ah, what the heck. Sulotte is amazing, but there's like only two stories written for them so far. Guess this will be the third!**

 **Contains Dragon Sucy. Takes place in theneonflower's Years Later AU.**

 **Dedicated to Neon, hanasaku-shijin, azurathemagician, my brother, and all the wonderful folks in the LWA fandom!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.**

* * *

 **Forever**

It is late into the night, with Lotte humming happily to herself as she ties knots on a pair of orange and blue threads. To her right, her lantern faerie is curiously poking at a finished violet and red misanga.

Halting her progress, she reaches out to tickle her faerie's chin before moving her hand over to the misanga. She picks it up and kisses it softly, smiling as the person it reminds her of fills her thoughts and warms her heart.

Lotte glances over her roommates, both which are sound asleep. Akko is tossing and turning like usual, while Sucy remains eerily still, arms crossed over her chest.

Lotte gets up from the desk and walks over to Sucy's bedside. She kneels next to her sleeping figure to admire every feature - every color - making up the poison witch she has grown to adore so much.

Several months running fingers through silky violet locks. Several more gazing into eyes like shadowed pools of red.

Brushing aside a few strands of Sucy's hair, Lotte takes care not to expose her hidden left eye. As brief as the contact is, though, it's still enough to stir the unmoving roommate awake, her visible eye opening slightly.

"Mmm... Lotte?"

"Sorry for waking you, Sucy."

Sucy blinks a couple times before grasping Lotte's hand with her own, pressing the freckled girl's palm to her lips.

"Hmm... I don't mind."

Lotte giggles and responds in kind, leaning forward to sweetly kiss her girlfriend.

"Still awake?" Sucy asks, her tone both sleepy and concerned.

"Yeah."

"Homework?"

"Mmm, something like that."

"I see."

Somewhat satisfied with Lotte's answer, Sucy closes her eye and relaxes into her pillow.

"Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Lotte whispers with a kiss to the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Sucy."

"Mm. You too, Lotte."

With that, the violet-haired witch falls back into a deep slumber. Lotte takes another moment to watch the rhythmic rise and fall of Sucy's chest before returning to her work.

Another session of weaving threads passes by, until she finally holds a misanga in each hand.

Violet and red, together with orange and blue.

Lotte nearly bursts from excitement. Tomorrow can't come fast enough.

* * *

The next day, Sucy is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps that girl is playing hooky again, Lotte thinks, and book it for her team's living quarters the second her final class ends.

Upon entering their room, she expects to find Sucy either reading or concocting another one of her crazed experiments. Instead, she sees Akko twirling around with her Shiny Rod in hand.

" _Metamorphose Faciesse!_ "

With a poof of magic, a bipedal lizard - red and thin in appearance - replaces the very spot Akko once stood. However, its voice is undoubtedly Akko's.

"Aw, what the heck? I wanted ' _hamster_ ', not ' _lizard_ '!"

Lotte clears her throat to announce her presence, startling the lizard-Akko into breathing fire. The streaks of flame mostly fizzle in the air, but some of them catch fire on Akko's bed sheets.

"H-huh? Oh wow, I can breathe fire!" she shouts excitedly.

"Akko," Lotte deadpans, pointing to their smoking bedside.

"Gyah! My bed! Noooooooooo!"

Lotte presses a hand to her forehead, while the panicking lizard uselessly flails her thin arms over the minuscule, spreading flames. Pulling out her wand, Lotte recites a water spell.

" _Shuryal Muryuelle_."

A green spark becomes clear liquid in an instant, flowing through the air before finding their way to and dousing the flames. Left in its wake are the charred remains of bed sheets and a burnt pillow, although the mattress itself remains miraculously untouched.

"Aw man, now I have to request a new pillow and sheets. _Again_ ," Akko pouts.

"Just be grateful you didn't burn down our room, _again_ ," chides Lotte, her arms crossed with a stern expression. "Didn't we already agree that you should practice your metamorphosis magic _outside_ , not in our room?"

Akko casts down her eyes with a guilty expression. As guilty as someone with a reptilian face can appear, anyway.

"Uuuu, I'm sorry..."

Lotte snickers, unable to take Akko in her current form seriously.

"There there, everything's alright now."

She kneels down to pet the pouting lizard on the head, earning her an annoyed grunt.

"Hmph. At least I kinda understand how Sucy feels now."

Lotte stiffens. The very mention of their roommate in that context sends her mind whirling back to focus.

Sucy is a dragon.

How can she overlook something so obvious? If she is nowhere to be seen for an entire day, then there is only one place she could possibly be...

"Looking for Sucy?"

Akko's abrupt question tears Lotte from her thoughts, who looks down to meet a sly glint in Akko's eyes.

"W-what?" Lotte stammers.

"Oh, it's nothing," Akko shrugs, and skitters past Lotte for the door. "You should probably check the window, by the way. See you later, Lotte!"

With that, Akko - still in lizard form - darts off through the hallway, leaving behind her puzzled roommate.

Rather than dwell on Akko's strange behaviour, however, Lotte decides to take her friend's suggestion and make her way over to the window sill.

Large forests of trees can be seen surrounding the campus at length, although upon further inspection, Lotte notices a faint pair of horns poking from the greenery. Wasting no time, she dashes out with her broom in tow, and takes to the sky the second she exits the building.

Within minutes, she slows her flight speed and approaches the approximate area where she last seen the horns.

"S-Sucy!" she calls out. "Is that you?"

Silence ensues for a brief moment, followed by a guttural, draconic grunt that sends flocks of birds fleeing nearby trees. Not Lotte, though, who sighs in relief and descends to the forest grounds below.

Beyond the foliage, a massive black dragon is curled next to a steep, flowing ravine. One glance over the purple scales, as well as the low-hanging horns covering all but the left eye, assures Lotte that it is indeed Sucy before her, and thankfully not some other dragon.

Not that she believes any of those dragon horror stories in the first place. Especially when _Sucy_ is the one telling them.

"Sucy..."

Lotte's voice is soft and inviting, taking care not to startle her enormous companion. As her feet touches the ground, she gazes up at Sucy with a warm smile.

 _"Lotte..."_

Sucy uncurls her body and crawls closer the small witch, a glowing crimson eye matching bespectacled pairs of blue.

No other words are shared or required. Lotte just understands, and trots closer to wrap her arms around Sucy's neck. Her hands caress Sucy's scales in slow and calming strokes, earning her a delighted rumble from the poisonous dragon.

Lotte giggles and snuggles a bit closer. She rarely gets the chance to pet Sucy like this, but is convinced nonetheless that she's figured out all her weak spots by now.

"You're so cute."

Sucy grunts, gently curling her tail around Lotte.

 _"Says the puny witch."_

Lotte smiles and reaches up for Sucy's head. Sucy herself is amused by the gesture, given how petite the Finn is even when standing on her toes. A sound resembling a sigh escapes from her massive jaws, which she lowers down for her struggling girlfriend.

Relieved that she doesn't need to overstretch herself, Lotte places her hands beneath the tip of Sucy's jaw and rests her forehead against Sucy's snout.

"Does it still hurt?"

 _"Hmm... just a little bit."_

"You could've asked either myself or Akko for help. We're not exactly a 'secret' anymore, you know?"

 _"I figured I could control this by now."_

"And?"

 _"As you can see."_

Sucy meant that as a joke, but Lotte is no fool. She can clearly see the frustration lingering in Sucy's expression, along with the weariness emanating from her massive form.

And it isn't hard to understand why. It had been a couple months since Sucy's rampage across the campus, and several weeks still since she was released from custody.

Even after all that time, half the student body remains terrified of Sucy. The rest are much more capricious, constantly demanding the faculty to inflict harsher punishments over the ones Sucy ended up receiving.

Then there are Sucy's friends, all of them worried sick and wanting to help in any way possible.

So far, the only sort of help she is willing accept is Lotte's. Hardly surprising, given their secret relationship, which - out of every possible thing - somehow _remains_ a secret despite the events that transpired.

Since then, Sucy has attempted mastery over her transformations with middling success.

Lotte kisses Sucy on the nose, stroking her head in soothing motions.

"Need some help?"

After some thought, Sucy nods.

 _"Yeah."_

Lotte smiles and closes her eyes, allowing her voice to carry itself through the forest.

It is soft, wordless melody, one that Sucy loves as much as Lotte's other lullabies. Really, ever since the two first met, Lotte's voice has become her most favourite sound in the world. It is the voice of an angel, a voice she knows she'll never tire of listening to.

Soon enough, the song works its magic upon Sucy's body, which relaxes into calming lull. She can feel her hardened scales returning into soft flesh, and yet there is no pain, no tension. Only the warmth of her best friend and lover, whose arms welcome her back with a tender embrace.

"Welcome back, Sucy."

"Mm. Took you long enough," Sucy whispers, resting her chin on Lotte's shoulder.

* * *

The two spend the rest of evening by the ravine, bare feet splashing in cool water as they chatter idly of all manner of things. Lotte will babble on about the latest Nightfall volume, while Sucy jokes of that one potion she may or may not have mixed in Akko's pickled plums.

When the sun begins to set, Lotte extends her palm out for Sucy.

"Sucy, give me your right hand."

Bewildered, the other girl does as she is told. Lotte then pulls the orange and blue misanga from her skirt pocket, tying it around Sucy's wrist.

"What is it?"

"It's a misanga!" Lotte chimes. "Also called a promise ring."

"A promise... ring?"

"Yeah! It used to be very popular in the town I grew up in."

"I see," Sucy mutters as she traces the bracelet, admiring the craftsmanship. "Some sort of Finnish witchcraft?"

Lotte shakes her head. "Oh no, nothing like that. It's a good luck charm."

"You're giving _me_ of all people a good luck charm?"

"Of course I would, silly!" Lotte deflects, leaning closer to the pale-skinned witch. "There's also a superstition that if the misanga snaps on its own, your wish is guaranteed to come true."

Upon hearing that, a maniacal grin stretches across Sucy's cheeks.

"Oh really? In that case, should I wish for success in my next experiment? Or maybe a complete harvest of mushrooms next season?"

As she chuckles wickedly over the possibilities, Lotte giggles and brings up her left hand for Sucy to see.

"I'm sure you can wish for all of those! But while we're at it..."

She points towards the violet and red coloured misanga strung around her wrist.

"...We might as well wish to be together forever!"

Sucy freezes up, feeling as though her heart has been caught in her throat. She briefly gives Lotte a forlorn glance before casting her gaze onto the water's surface.

Realizing that something is up, Lotte tempers her enthusiasm and places a hand on top of Sucy's.

"Sucy, what's wrong?"

The somber girl gives no response, appearing more concerned with splashing her feet.

"Was- was it something I said?" Lotte asks worriedly.

The splashing stops, but Sucy avoids looking at Lotte as she speaks.

"Not really. It's just..."

She hesitates, pulling her hand from Lotte's and grasping the misanga on her wrist with such force, it leaves painful marks on her skin. Her breath trembles as she struggles with her next words.

"...How long is 'forever'?"

Lotte tilts her head to the side, confused over the point behind Sucy's question.

"Um, well, 'forever' is 'forever', right?"

Sucy tightens the grip on her wrist. "Does that mean... until the end of _your_ lifespan?"

Lotte's heart sinks. She never even considers that possibility when she made her wish. It is only when Sucy makes eye contact with her does she realize it is too late.

Uncertainty and fear are now filling the single orb of crimson she fell in love with.

Lotte then recalls something from the night she first learns of Sucy's secret - dragons possess life spans far outstripping those of mere mortals. Those capable of maintaining a human form can control the rate at which they physically mature, but aging is a millennium-exceeding process. A half-witch like Sucy is no exception, having been alive for at least a few centuries.

Sucy never delves into the exact details of her life, but even Lotte can tell how grueling it must've been. A life where you outlive your closest friends and companions? That's enough to drive any human mad.

The worst part is that this is all _normal_ for her. The transformations; the pain; the loss - all of it, everyday for hundreds of years.

Lotte can't help but wonder if those past experiences are what made the present Sucy so twisted and aloof.

But the present Sucy is still the Sucy she knows and loves most.

There is still so much she doesn't understand, and so little she can hope to achieve herself.

But things are different now. Sucy is not same person she was since her first day at Luna Nova, and neither is Lotte. They both met Akko and each other. They all inspired one another to newfound lengths. Just as this Sucy is more expressive and empathetic, this Lotte is much more excitable; a go-getter in almost the same ways Akko is.

As such, this Lotte decides Sucy has had enough heartbreak for a lifetime.

"If that's how long my 'forever' is," she answers with another smile, "then maybe you should trying living that long too."

Sucy is now staring wide-eyed at her girlfriend. She half-expected an apology, or even some form of begrudging agreement. Whatever the case might've been, Lotte's current answer went completely against her expectations.

"... _What?_ "

One look at Sucy's dumbfounded expression causes Lotte to giggle again.

"I mean, just think about it! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could grow old and die together? Well, not _die_ die, but in a more natural way, right? Oh my gosh, it would be just like that volume when Edgar-"

"Lotte."

"Huh? O-oh, sorry, I just-"

"Lotte."

Sucy is glaring daggers at Lotte, who flinches as though she is actually hurt.

"What would you do... if we can't live like that?"

Sucy voice is stern and melancholic, her breath still wavering ever so slightly. Despite that, Lotte answers with the same fervor as before.

"We _can_! That's the whole point of the misanga!"

Lotte nudges closer to Sucy until they are bumping shoulders.

"Just you wait, Sucy. Have some faith in us."

Sucy squeezes her misanga tightly, the thread nearly cutting into her skin this time.

"...How can you be so confident?"

Lotte places a finger to her chin in a contemplative gesture.

"Hmm, I dunno. Maybe with all that's been happening lately, I feel like anything is possible."

"Oh?" Sucy inches away from Lotte, and returns to splashing her feet. "But if you're over-confident, you'll only get hurt."

An uncomfortable silence casts over the two.

Certain that Lotte finally dropped the subject, Sucy decides to glance over in her direction. Which turned out to be a grave mistake upon meeting those blue orbs, now brimming with anger.

"Sucy, you idioooooooooot!"

"H-huh? Lot- waugh!"

In an act of vexation, Lotte pushes Sucy into the ravine, although the momentum sent her careening over as well.

They both tumble into the water with a large splash, becoming soaked from head to toe. Luckily, the ravine is quite shallow from their bottoms up to their waist, even if the rock bed doesn't provide much of a cushion.

"Ow. The heck, Lotte-"

Sucy is cut off from the sound of muffled sobbing. Looking down, she notices a bundle of wet orange hair burying itself against her chest. Lotte's hands are clutching the front of her uniform, nails digging slightly into her skin.

"Lotte..."

"Why are you being so negative?!" Lotte cries into Sucy's chest.

Before Sucy gets the chance to formulate a response, Lotte tilts up her head and immediately locks their lips together. Lotte doesn't even give her any time to breathe.

Ever since they began dating, all their kisses have been of the more innocent sort. Whether they are brief, softer ones on the lips, or tender, reassuring ones to the forehead, any kiss shared between the two is always light and fleeting, always mutual.

But this kiss is forceful, deep, and passionate. It's almost desperate in the way Lotte pushes herself against Sucy, as though she has been yearning for this kiss for years.

After much too long, they break away at the same time. Sucy is left utterly shocked by her own breathlessness.

As if Sucy can't be more surprised than she has been for the past half-hour.

"Lotte..." she gasps, attempting to reorient her senses.

The girl in question is resting her head on Sucy's chest again, her sobs having died down but her voice still shaky.

"Y-you have to believe. I-I don't want to be- just another memory to you..."

Lotte looks up to find cracks in Sucy's usual composure, whose expression became more agonized and regretful the further she spoke.

"I love you, Sucy. I want to be with you."

An aching pain crawls beneath Sucy's chest just as she feels an unfamiliar stinging to her eyes.

The dragon within her isn't the only thing she suppressed for centuries, although the pain is unbearable enough that she might've had mistaken it for such.

Wrapping her arms around Lotte, she pulls her into a tight embrace. Clinging to the small of her back, Sucy feels as though she might crumble under the weight of her emotions.

"Lotte..."

Lotte reciprocates the hug, her arms finding their way around Sucy's waist and over the small her back.

"...Sucy?"

Sucy desperately searches for the right words to say, but remains trapped in her own thoughts.

"Lotte, I...!"

 _When you grow old someday..._

 _And I remain the same as ever..._

 _Would you still accept me?_

The two remain like this for a while, neither realizing how high the moon has risen.

In the meantime, Sucy's thoughts lingered on some more.

Time numbed her heart to the passing of close friends and companions. Eventually, she had learned to stop caring completely. But all of that changed when she met Akko and Lotte.

Her heart began to unwind. What had been lost is being found once more.

Things are different now. _Sucy_ is different. And yes, that fact would haunt her on occasion.

But none of it is ever the same sort of fear she feels at this moment. They don't even come close.

She can't even begin to imagine what losing Lotte would do to her.

 _Death has never felt quite as close to me as it does now._

 _It scares me. A lot._

Playing with the strands of orange hair between her fingers, Sucy notices the misanga on her wrist. Despite having been soaked in water, the threads remain tightly knit as before.

All of a sudden, she comes to dawning realization.

 _Wait. Lotte made this, right?_

 _Wouldn't that mean..._

 _Perhaps it's a stretch, but maybe, just maybe..._

"Lotte."

"Hm? Sucy?" Lotte utters quietly, her face partially buried in Sucy's chest.

"Let's make a vow."

Lotte shoots a confused look towards her.

"A- _vow?_ "

Sucy nods. "You said you wished that we could be together forever. I'm the same way."

Lotte's eyes lit up in an instant. "Really?! B-but you said-"

"Forget what I said earlier. I... I don't want to lose you, Lotte."

Sucy rested her head against Lotte's, who releases a sharp gasp following that declaration. However, Sucy didn't stop there.

"Listen. There was a time where I used to think I was better off alone. That a life alone was somehow more interesting than a life with others. But..."

Sucy takes a deep breath. An honest, reassuring grin forms on her lips as she continues speaking.

"...But you and Akko ruined all of that. Now I can't live without you. I don't _want_ to live without you. So, unless you wanna wake up tomorrow with snakes in your hair..."

Sucy pulls herself and Lotte to their feet, their hands now joined together.

"...Please stay with me. Forever."

Lotte sucks in a breath as more tears begin streaming down her face. Her hands briefly lets go of Sucy's, before throwing them around her girlfriend's shoulders in a loving embrace.

"Yes! Yes, yes! A thousand times, _yes_!"

Sucy nods as she returns the embrace, their cheeks nuzzling together.

At long last, the ache in her chest disappears and is replaced by a feeling of warmth and comfort, the kind of feeling she was never quite used to until recently.

It is a wonderful feeling.

Even though they're both soaked to the bone, and the night has fallen way past curfew, they still managed to find warmth in each other's arms.

"It kind of feels like we're getting married," Lotte chuckles, her face flushing from embarrassment.

"Should've bought some rings, then."

"S-Sucy, we're too young for that!"

"You are, anyway," Sucy bounces back wryly.

"Hey, what is that suppo- ah- ah- _a-choo_!"

Lotte abruptly sneezes into Sucy's shoulder, earning a disgusted grunt from the violet witch.

"Way to ruin to moment, Lotte."

Lotte shivers in Sucy's arms, the night chill finally taking its toll on her drenched body. She tries to grab her wand to dry herself with it, but Sucy doesn't loosen her arms around Lotte's waist.

"C-can you please let go? I'm freezing, and I want to dry my clothes."

"No."

"B-but I'm going catch a cold!"

Sucy brush noses with Lotte, the sardonic glint of her eye both utterly charming and worrisome.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we got sick together, though?"

"Uwah?! Sucy, you're mean, you know that?"

With that, both of them burst into laughter. This feeling of elation after an entire evening of heartache is like nothing else. It's as though their hearts are mending back together, and neither could get enough of it.

Stepping out from the ravine, both spend a bit of time drying themselves off and fixing their uniforms with magic. Once they are finished, they rest their foreheads together to share one more kiss.

And unlike before, this kiss is soft, gentle, and mutual, just like always.

When they part lips, they gaze longingly at each other before reaffirming their vow.

"I love you, Sucy."

"Yeah. I love you too."

Hand-in-hand, they walk back to the academy, content on abiding their time for just a little bit longer.

Sucy takes a quick glance over their joined hands.

A misanga on her right.

Another on Lotte's left.

Violet and red, alongside orange and blue.

Years from now, should those faeries decide they are truly meant to be...

 _I hope it snaps soon..._

* * *

 **A/N: To those confused about what Sucy realized:**

 **Objects that last a long time have faeries. Lotte can commune with faeries, so she would be the most naturally attuned to them. That means if she makes something, the chances of that object having a faerie should be much higher.**

 **Sucy is betting on the chance that the misangas will have faeries in the future. It they do, they can make their wish come true for sure! Maybe.**

 **Please review!**


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